CheckMag | Killer quality: 5 of the best Steam Winter Sale indie game deals that ooze AAA aspirations

Outer Wilds is one of those games that melds genres seamlessly, effortlessly combining adventure and survival game mechanics with the die-and-die-again gameplay that we've come to expect from more traditional roguelike games to make one of the best puzzle games of 2019.

In Outer Wilds, you step into the shoes of an astro-anthropologist sent to investigate the alien ruins of a civilisation long gone, when you get trapped in a loop. Every 22 minutes, the solar system's star goes supernova, and you die, only to start the day's exploration over again.

Outer Wilds delivers a stylised but polished aesthetic, filled to the brim with colour, character, and atmosphere, despite the game's somewhat grim premise.

Outer Wilds is discounted to $14.99 during the Steam Winter Sale.

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The boomer shooter genre is having somewhat of a renaissance, and Metal: Hellsinger is fully riding that wave, bringing with it a swell of variety, a blistering pace, and an outstanding heavy metal soundtrack to time your attacks to.

It helps that Metal: Hellsinger features the gloomy, gritty visuals you'd expect from a metal-themed rhythm game that follows a condemned soul, The Unknown, as he battles hordes of gathering demons on a quest for vengeance through hell itself.

Metal: Hellsinger isn't particularly long, topping out at around ten hours of gameplay, but it delivers a very polished ten hours, with plenty of weapons, abilities, and steady progression throughout the story. It's a challenging game, but you never quite feel entirely outgunned — you're never omnipotent, either. The difficulty slider also provides more experienced players a much more difficult experience.

Metal: Hellsinger is just $11.99 during the Steam Winter Sale.

Ghostrunner 2 is the hardcore, fast-paced first-person-perspective, hack-and-slash sequel to Ghostrunner. The story is set a year after the fall of the despotic ruler of the Dharma Tower — humanity's last refuge — and follows our cyber ninja as he faces off against new threats looking to step into the power vacuum left by the fall of the Keymaster.

Ghostrunner 2 delivers the same bloody, heart-racing melee-centric battles as its predecessor, but steps up the visual fidelity and overall level of polish. The sequel features more weapons, better progression, and more in-depth boss fights that offer players more ways to come out on top against the game's toughest opponents.

Ghostrunner 2 is available for $27.99 during the Steam Winter Sale, until January 4, 2024.

Similarly to Outer Wilds and Solar Ash, Asterigos: Curse of the Stars is a story about piecing together the mystery of a fantasy world. Although, instead of space or a living abstract landscape painting, Asterigos takes place in the fictional city of Aphes, inspired by real-world Greco-Roman cultures and imbued with mysticism, although devoid of inhabitants.

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars follows Hilda as she searches Aphes for her missing father. As you go deeper into the city cursed by the gods, you will unlock abilities and weapons, hone your combat and spell-casting skills, and face off against all manner of fierce mythological enemies.

For an indie title that tries to juggle a lot of different mechanics, Asterigos: Curse of the Stars is remarkably well-executed, with fluid combat, balanced and varied enemy encounters, and a solid story with fleshed-out lore behind it.

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars is discounted by 40% to $19.24 during the Steam Winter Sale.

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